Sunday, November 2, 2008

The Best Potato Soup Ever


I may have mentioned before that I have a theory about good cooks versus great cooks. Good cooks follow recipes. Great cooks don't even need recipes, and everything they come up with always manages to be fabulous. My mother-in-law was a great cook.

One of her specialties was potato soup. She had no real recipe for her potato soup, yet it always tasted the same. Because she used leftover mashed potatoes, the consistency was smooth and thick, and the flavor was, well, just yummy. My family never has enough leftover mashed potatoes to make anything out of, so when I discovered frozen mashed potatoes, I figured they might work to make Dorothy's potato soup. There's no "real" recipe, but I'll share as much as I can.

My family of four loves this soup, so I tend to make a lot. Feel free to adjust up or down, depending on the crew you're feeding.

-- Three packages frozen mashed potatoes (They come loaded up with goodies or with a little butter. I prefer the more embellished ones). I thaw these out before cooking with them, and they thaw out well in the fridge.

Put the potatoes in a dutch oven and then pour in milk in roughly the same proportion as potatoes. Cook over low-medium heat and stir often.

Once the mixture starts heating up, add cheese. I use Mexican Velveeta and a little pepper jack, but any cheese will do. Add as much or as little as you like.

If you use potatoes without all the extras, you can add those yourself. A little cooked bacon, chives, onions, etc. -- all are good in this soup. If your kids need more vegatables, they'd never know if you throw in a few grated carrots. You can even sautee some chopped jalapeno pepper and add to the mix. I prefer to add salt at the table, since many pre-packaged foods are loaded with extra sodium.

If you care to garnish, add a few chives, crumbled bacon and a little cheddar cheese. Bon appetit!

11 comments:

Leacayoungart said...

Yum! We may have this today.

Nola said...

You had me at the photo! When I saw bacon, onions, and cheese, I KNEW it would be a keeper. I've never bought frozen mashed potatoes, what a time saver! We eat potatoes at EVERY meal; my dad lives with us and you don't dare serve him a meal without potatoes. I am forever standing at the sink peeling potatoes; frozen ones would be a treat!

Anonymous said...

We love potato soup. I never thought of frozen mashed taters. Thanks for the idea and the recipe!

As for us, we're having veggie soup today. It was a toss up, between potato and veggie...I just had a hankerin' for veggie, today, though.

Lisa said...

I LOVE potato soup on a cold day. I didn't even know frozen mashed potatoes existed, and honestly, never thought about using leftover mashed potatoes but it makes sense! Yum.

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Sounds easy peasy...I've never thought of mashed potatoes as a base for potato soup.

Oh boy, being Irish/Scottish we love anything and everything potatoes!!I laughed when you said you never had mashed pot's left over...Hear YA!!

We've got potatoes, sweet potatoes onions and garlic roasting in the oven right now with some fresh rosemary...did I mention we LOVE potatoes!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Oh! That looks and sounds so great! Thanks for the recipe!

Amber Cargile said...

Not to BRAG or anything....but I had this soup at Sandra's house and it is even better than it sounds! Delicious!

Lori Bee said...

I never would have thought of using frozen either! Genius!! Thanks, I loooove potato soup! Lori

Lori Bee said...

Lucky Amber!!!

9405018--Pat said...

Yum! will have this for dinner today...thanks for sharing...Pat H

Becca Watson said...

That sounds yummy! My husband and I love potato soup! I'll have to try this out. Thanks.